Android OS 101

The Android platform is similar to the Windows OS you use on your personal computer. But bear in mind, it is specifically developed to work on small, low power devices like smartphones and tablets. It is meant to operate as efficiently as it can be while using as little electricity as possible. Android Inc. received worldwide recognition when in August 2005 Google acquired the company then immediately announced that they'll make the operating system Open Source so that anyone can use it without paying for it or shell out any royalties.

The Android operating system is actually based on a customized version of the Linux Kernel, Linux certainly already an established open sorce alternative to Windows and Apple OS X. At its most basic level, an OS delivers the layer between the hardware and software built to run on it. When it comes to Android it needs to be able to pass commands to the cpu, microphone, camera, GPS, touch screen and keypad and so on. Various programs can then be created to operate on Android OS to make these devices functional.

The Android OS is undoubtedly a sophisticated software program and packs a big punch in a small package. It uses a lightweight relational database called SQLite to maintain and retrieve data for the variety of apps that you install. It also provides built in playback capability for a wide selection of different media types like WebM, H.263, H.264, PNG, GIF, BMP, MPEG, MP3, MIDI, WAV and JPEG.. In terms of connectivity it can tackle the latest technologies out of the box which includes GSM, IDEN, CDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and WiMax, SMS and MMS forms of messaging turning it into the most suitable platform for software coders to build innovative new software.

Android has overtaken just about every other smartphone OS around, this includes Apple's iOS which powers the iPhones and Blackberry's proprietary operating system. Towards the end of 2010, approximately Thirty three million smartphones ended up being purchased which came with a version of the Android OS and research analyst NPD Group now predicts that half of all smartphone purchases are for an Android phone.

The driving factor supporting this speedy take up is the open source aspect of the OS. This means any smartphone, tablet or handheld device maker on earth can obtain the source files, alter and customize it for their particular requirements and distribute it on devices manufactured by them. The royalty free nature of Android has encouraged many of the biggest names in the smartphone business like HTC, Samsung, LG and Motorola to make incredibly desirable devices utilizing the Android OS.

Another reason for the big demand of Android phones is that by the end of 2010 there were more than 200,000 apps for download which included everything from games to tools, image editing to location based services. Unlike Apple's application store, most Android applications are free or have free versions, which in turn encourages people to use Android gadgets.

Find out about Android tablets, phones and mobile gadgets at Android Tablet Reviews HQ. Before deciding on a device make certain to browse the numerous Android tablet reviews available. This will make certain that you choose a unit that is suitable for your intended purpose.

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How Does Mobile App Optimization Fit Into Your Strategy?

What is mobile app optimization? This can actually refer to two different processes, both of which can be very important in your mobile application strategy. If you are entering the highly competitive arena of the mobile web, you will often need highly skilled help both within your company and among your contractors. The exact tactics you pursue to drive people toward your mobile marketing experience will depend upon what your goals are, what your development budget is like, and what kind of demographic you are trying to reach. That said, there are basically two different kinds of "optimization" that you will have to bear in mind.

First and foremost, "mobile app optimization" refers to developing software applications that can be experienced and enjoyed well on a wide variety of mobile platforms. As the Android operating system gains in popularity, it becomes more important that software development houses offer products that are compatible across multiple platforms. At the same time, it is clear that the Apple platform is not going away any time soon. Even such a huge and well established company as Microsoft is moving toward multiple platform compatibility with its new operating system, and so should you. This requires strong internal programmers with a broad spectrum of knowledge.

There is another process that this term can refer to, and it is just as important if you are planning to make a big splash on the mobile web. That is the kind of "mobile app optimization" that allows your app to be found easily in the various mobile markets and avenues. Many people do not realize that there are millions and millions of Americans who, even now, use their mobile device as their primary source of internet access! So, if you organize your marketing strategy to ensure that your app is more visible, it will be easier to get in touch with this huge audience.

No matter what type of mobile app optimization best fits in with your strategy, it is important to find the expertise that you need to make the most of it. All forms of mobile marketing and search engine optimization are constantly being scrutinized by professionals in the business. It is very rare that a company will be able to provide exceptional quality of service in their area of specialization and also do everything possible in online marketing. With the mobile marketing segment growing every day, it is crucial to take a proactive tact when it comes to this business investment.

Learn more about mobile app optimization, and see how it can bring ad awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent to your business.

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Five Factors In Choosing Your Gaming Laptop

Gaming laptops today are very powerful in what they can do as they are able to cope with huge performance specifications that the newer HD and 3D games. A regular laptop will do the basics of allowing you to create Word and PowerPoint documents, browsing the internet, play movies and listen to music. But a gaming laptop is designed specifically for playing high-spec games.

Before going out and buying the first laptop that you see, it is worth considering these factors:

The first and most important factor in a gaming laptop is the graphics card. Most standard laptops now come with built-in graphics card which will drain the power of the memory and displays the actual image. You should look to get a laptop that has a dedicated graphics card ideally an nVidia or ATI. These are two of the leading manufacturers in producing graphics for desktop and laptop devices. Newer laptops now have SLI interface which allows the laptop to have two graphics card running at the same time.

In addition, newer laptops offer the capability of 3D gaming which comes with the 3D glasses. These laptops will cost a little bit more than your standard laptop. Newer Nvidia graphics cards have dual-GPU technology built-in, which is like having SLI interface but only with one graphics card. Dedicated graphics card will also have on-board memory with some carry as much as 2GB.

The second factor to consider is the RAM. The larger the amount inside the laptop, the better as this will enable you to play the latest games. If there is a built-in graphics card, then the RAM memory will be jointly shared between the graphics card.

The next important factor is the CPU as this will determine the laptop's overall speed. The majority of laptops come with a dual core processor, which is great if the other specifications are at the top end of the scale. Some newer gaming laptops have now got quad core processor running in them. Be sure to check when buying your high end laptop that you look at the cooling options as these devices can get quite hot, which can have an impact on the performance. It is best to invest in some type of cooling device that will keep the laptop running at an optimum temperature.

The hard drive is another important thing to consider as most laptops now come with 320GB worth of storage enabling you keep all your gaming files and other associated documents in one place.

The screen size is the final important aspect to consider and that is why you should invest in a laptop that with a display over 15 inches.

Save on Laptops is a leading online retailer within the UK that specialises in Gaming Laptops. Box Limited runs the website, a high-established company formed over sixteen years ago.

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How to Use SMTP Relay Service With Android Mobile Devices - Quick Guide in 4 Steps

If you want to send an email while travelling you may encounter a serious problem. While changing location you probably change a network which connects you to Internet. So if you try to use Outlook (or any other email client) to sent an email from some hot spot at the airport with your usual settings - you will most probably be blocked. SMTP relay service is a solution for that.

This simple guide will help you with exemplary setting up your android phone or tablet to work with SMTP service. You just need to have an account in one of available services. To learn more about the service and how to get it just follow the ling at the bottom of the article. There are a lot of SMTP relay services - just search Google for one of them.

So, if you have your account - let's get to the guide itself!

1. Adding a new email account in your phone.

Just go to your email app and add a new account. Probably you will have to put your email address registered on your chosen SMTP service and a password for your account. Then click on Manual setup.

2. Choose pop3 as an account type.

3. Incoming mail server settings.

You have to put some data about your email. Typically you can get them from your email service provider - for example your ISP. You will need your username, a password, a pop3 server address, a proper port number and security type. All of them should be checkable for you on your email service provider's site. But I've got a tip for you: ask Google this way: pop3 port settings site:[your email service provider domain]. For example type this query for AOL account into Google search: pop3 port settings site:aol.com. One of the few first pages should have your settings displayed!

4. Outgoing mail server settings.

This is the most important part. Usually you would also use the settings from you email service provider. But to be able to use all the goods of your new SMTP relay service account, we will use its SMTP server address as an outgoing mail server. Remember that you need to have an account first. There are also free options available, so you can test the usefulness of this. You need to check the address of SMTP server provided by your chosen SMTP relay service. Set this as an outgoing mail server. The port number should also be checked on your service providers site. There is a good chance however, that 2525 will do the job. In some cases it might be 25, 8025 or 587 also but probably 2525 will work just fine. Follow the link at the end of this guide for more details on this. As for the security type and Require sign-in part - check those also on your providers site. As a username and password you should probably type your account data.

And that's it. Now just add a name for your new account. Anywhere you are you will be able to send an email without being blocked. And you will not have to change this settings every time you change your location and a network you are connected to.

More info
This simple guide should be enough for you to set things up to work, but if you would like to get some more detailed guide with screenshots - here is the link for you: www.smtp2gohow2.com/how2/smtp2go-on-android-phone/.
Check it out to learn more.
To get some other great guides on using SMTP2GO, get your free SMTP2GO account or purchase one of the available plans, visit our home page: http://www.smtp2gohow2.com/

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Get Past Android Screen Resolution Challenges While Developing An App

Android applications development is increasingly becoming challenging for most developers given the plethora of screen resolutions in the market unlike developing for iOS that has only two for iPhone and now two for iPad. A bit of background for the uninitiated: Android is an open-source platform that all the handset manufacturers can use to adapt and makes changes (to an extent) while customizing for their handsets. This has created a highly fragmented market as each of the manufacturers have varied screen sizes depending on the phones they manufacture with Android as the operating system.

There are two ways in Android app development that can help overcome the challenges developers face while developing their Android apps. Even if you are an entrepreneur who wants to take their idea into Android applications development, you must know about the challenges that the platform throws and what are the ways to overcome these. It is important to know as an entrepreneur as the method adopted by the developer will impact your product.

Before we go into how one can overcome the challenges, a bit about what the platform offers currently by means of screen resolutions. In Android applications development, there are four main categories of screen resolutions: Low Density, Medium Density, High Density and Extra High Density. Each of the categories has at least five different resolution-based phones available in the marketplace. This, as you can see, is highly challenging if you want your application to work across devices for maximum reach. We discuss below a couple of ways how you can overcome these challenges.

HTML5 Application

HTML5 is a web technology that has taken the app and web world by storm. HTML5 allows for creating a single application (web-based with certain native features) that can work across multiple devices with just writing one piece of code in Android app development that helps resize the application as per the user's handset. One can write a completely web-based application or a better option would be to write a web-based application in HTML5 and put an Android wrapper around it to give it a native feel and enabling the application to be downloaded from the Android app stores.

Multi-Screen Application

The other way that one can overcome challenges in Android applications development is to create a completely native application that supports multiple screens. Now, how many is multiple given the huge number of screen sizes already in the market? Google's Android developer support has a certain guideline that allows for developers to develop for four resolutions that are standardized as per Android and will work in most of the handsets. For the remaining, an extra bit of code adjusts the size of the image to the nearest handset screen resolution. Following is the guideline that developers can follow:

• xlargescreens are at least 960dp x 720dp

• largescreens are at least 640dp x 480dp

• normalscreens are at least 470dp x 320dp

• smallscreens are at least 426dp x 320dp

Follow these guidelines and Android app development will not be as challenging as it is made out to be. Be rest assured, there are enough developers in the market that are using these techniques coupled with some of their own findings based on their experience of developing for Android. Do your own research as well by Googling what other developers are doing.

Apps are meant to simplify life! But with over a million apps to choose from the stores across life indeed gets complicated. I will provide you review and other related information on iPad application development, android applications development and the apps related to these. It is generally based on the user experience, popularity, design and help you reach out to the apps which will simplify life and make you an ardent fan of apps.

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Free Android Application Development Project Also Needs A Good Resource

BMW and Audi are the king of the automotive world, owing any of them has become a status symbol. Think of the time when Android application development had just entered the mobile development world and today, you will clearly feel that today it holds a similar status in the mobile development world. It is a Java based open source mobile operating system capable to make mobile devices equivalent to your personal computer. Immense popularity came to it for its unbelievable quality of music and high resolution videos, allowing users to capture their world in their mobile devices the way it looks to their eyes.

Those who use Android or are aware of it also know, each year thousands of Android applications are developed and distributed for free on the Android Market place. You might question, why distribute for free, when lots of money and efforts are put into Android application development. For the simple reason that building these applications and distributing them for free will bring lots of money to Android developers from marketing and creating brand awareness. Just think how many users around the world will be viewing your company Ad every time they load your application. Wait, there is something more to it, if the application is really good and liked by more people then you can also charge monthly fees for updates.

If you own a business, then your free Android application has all potential to bring your clients to your site. More and more people have started using mobile phones as their pocket computer, soon corporate America will be operating through these hand held devices, thereby increasing your reach to your customers. Let's take an example, by using a business application users can have access to their business sales reports and analyze their profits and losses at the tip of their fingers. Such applications also boost collaboration you can collaborate with any member you want to finalize your decisions regarding company matters.

Are you planning to have your own free Android application and planning to hire Android developer? Good, you will be making a perfect decision for your business's growth.

To make sure your Android application development molds into perfect shape it is important to hire Android developer carefully, you will not want to regret your hiring decision at a later stage. To be 100% sure about your hiring decision look for Android application development companies providing the option to hire Android developer from their team. This is not only a cost effective way of hiring but you will be also saved all the hardship involved in looking out for Android developers, testing their capabilities and still worrying if they will suit your project requirements. For best results ensure you have everything jotted down on paper to help you discuss your work with the developer you are considering.

Though you wish to make your application free for use, a good resource will ensure your success. A best resource will always make sure that all things are in place to make your application the best.

Ellen Wills is a professional Android app developer with high end expertise in Android App Development. Through these articles he aims to share his knowledge about the pulpit.

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Increase Productivity With Mobile Advertising

The massive growth of adoption of mobile technologies around the world has made many business managers to think how to effectively position their firms to benefit from the trend. Today, mobility became a part of the business technology for most companies. However, in a business rather than personal context, different types and complexity of information are needed, that range from access to documents and presentations, and for specific application needs to perform various business intelligence functions. Mobile IT devices can even change the way the company does business, where new technologies lead to new ways of working. Business owners can make their team work more efficiently and creatively by offering new products and services to the customers.

Businesses are learning more about the ways mobile technology can be used to increase their productivity and lead to increased profitability. There are many key areas in which mobile technology can be used like:

1. Companies can have an unprecedented level of connectivity between employees, vendors, and customers.

2. Employees are allowed to download applications on their mobile devices so that they connect with others through social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

3. The companies can even use native or web-based applications to enable direct communication with their audiences in a variety of ways.

Mobile technology has introduced a new dimension into marketing and advertising for businesses across the world. Potential customers are now seeing business advertisements on their mobile phones through a variety of mobile marketing technologies like - SMS, mobile websites, mobile applications, banner ads, QR codes, etc. In addition to mobile display banners, a growing trend is to include rich media execution within the banner ads, that would expand to a larger size and offer the advertisers a larger display to communicate their message. Some companies are inserting games or a video within the ad banner to make the experience more interactive.

Marketing is made effective by customization of the mobile advertisements, as most of the customers have a mobile device in their hand. As a result of this, exposure to the advertisements is increasing and is reaching a targeted audience. With so much user attention shifting to mobile phones and tablets, the business of advertising in mobile media growing up. A great number of apps are supported by ads, and users can expect to see more and more ads whenever they watch mobile video or use smart phones.

With the number of different device types, operating systems, and screen sizes, the decision for mobile marketing can be more daunting. For advertisers, creating mobile ads can be a pain, as ad unit sizes vary across platforms.

Today, mobile advertisers are using traditional methods of ad targeting that include - device, demographic group or context. In future, mobile ad targeting will become more relevant to a person's behavior and current location. Interactive ads will become more common, and users will be expanding, collapsing and manipulating them in ways that are still unfolding.

Mobile application development process at Endeavour concentrates on enabling unthinkable innovative processes in mobile environments. The available data is looked at being mobilized as this approach enables the enterprise to change the way their employees work. As a thorough mobility company, Endeavour never retrieves from thinking as creatively as possible to arrive at a process that is crafted to perfection and is streamlined for that desired functioning of the mobile solution that has been developed.

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Four Factors To Look For When Buying A Gaming Laptop

For gaming enthusiasts any laptop will not do when it comes down to playing the latest games. So how do you know you are buying the right laptop and does it have the specifications you need? Before you decide to purchase your gaming laptop, it is best to be clear in your mind what you want by writing down what you want to do with it. Research is an important key as this allows you to find out what are latest laptops on the market and the internet is the ideal way to do this. In addition, forums and reviews are good to look at as you can view and discuss the models you are interested in.

Do I need to buy a gaming laptop or can I just play high-spec games using a standard laptop? Gaming laptops have been designed to support high definition gaming as the new games that are coming out require machines to read its high-end graphics and thus pushing the laptop to its limits.

Do not go for a machine that is offering integrated graphics even if the processor has a good clock speed and it has a great overall design because it is more likely it will not be able to give the require frame rates that a game needs.

The graphics processing unit is the beating heart of the laptop as this will determine how good your gaming experience will be. If the graphics are not able to deliver the speed then the games will not play. When doing your research, make sure the graphics does no resource sharing with the laptop itself and has its own onboard memory.

Purchasing a gaming laptop is an investment into the latest technology available at that moment but allows for future developments as well. A standard laptop is not designed to play high-spec games and will end up crashing.

In order to make your laptop as quick possible, it needs to have a lot of RAM as this will decide the number of graphics that it can handle at any time. The more RAM you have the better as the majority of the gaming laptops come with at least 2GB but can go as high as 8GB. By having less RAM you are placing restrictions on the laptop to play certain games as the graphics will not be working to its full capacity.

A high resolution screen is important requirement of a gaming laptop with the resolution should be at least 1280 by 1024. The ideal screen size for a machine like this would 17-inches. The features you need to look for in the screen are: native resolution, aspect ratio, contrast, viewing angle and size.

The hard drive is another important feature in the laptop as the majority of them now comes with at least 320GB providing plenty of space to store your games, applications, documents, music, photos and movies.

Save on Laptops is a leading online retailer within the UK that specialises in Gaming Laptops. Box Limited runs the website, a high-established company formed over sixteen years ago.

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How Mobile Reporting Is Delivering Real Value

Mobile business intelligence has launched itself in this era for providing solutions which are designed for giving the users an interface which is not only intuitive, but also easy for using. With Mobile BI, the rate at which decisions are taken by organizations has increased drastically as compared to the companies who are still not adept at using the power of Mobile Reporting platforms.

Moreover, the return on investment i.e. the real value in terms of benefits provided by Mobile BI is not just concerned with fast decision making for the management and stakeholders of any organization. To get a complete idea of calculating the real value delivered by Mobile. we also need to mull over the fact that its use renders employees to make more use of Business Intelligence. Add to this is the fact that Mobile applications are easy to use.

It's users a latest utility and interfaces which in turn are responsible for delivering real value to your organization. Setting of dashboards for the solutions provided by Mobile BI with the relevant data needed aids in getting the prefect status about the performance of your business at any given time and place.

Mobile Reporting also ensures a secured access to important corporate communications. Mobile BI is more about becoming agile and responsive to the customer needs with brisk solutions and that too without having to take a resistive path. The ability of performance of the employees on field in heightened with the use of Mobile Reporting. This in turn will reflect on the revenues of the company. On account of the brisk decisions taken on field, the end customers of the company are also benefited. The issues regarding the clients get resolved faster in the process. This leads to lesser attrition rates as far as the clients go.

Mobile BI always keeps you informed about the process of your work. You gain maximum visibility of your work anytime and anywhere. You project pipeline is always under your scanner and this helps in proper scheduling of work. The companies using Mobile BI are successful in improving the overall sales process.

The solutions gifted by Mobile BI provide the users an easy method to interact, navigate and access important information, analyze it correctly and then take decisions the right way. The decisions are more data driven than instinct driven. This data is also among the firewalls of the company making it more secure.

Overall, the real value of Mobile BI is intangible and hence is difficult to describe. But, the value is seen in the performance of the organization. The increase in efficiency of the workforce increases the profits for the company. Profits do not necessarily convey heightened revenues, but the streamlining of your sales process will finally give you the desired Return on investment. The instant response to tricky situations which sometimes cause potential harm to companies is negated with the use of Mobile BI and prevents any damage to customer relationships of the company.

Improving business using smartphones just check: Mobile Reporting | Mobile BI

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Intel Core I5 Laptops - Know The Difference

With so many laptops on the market, with all kind of processors, one of the wisest decisions you may take is to settle down on an Intel Core i5 laptop. But before choosing a laptop powered by an Intel Core i5 mobile CPU, you have to be familiar with the i5 CPU series, as Intel recently released the 3rd generation of i5 processors. Knowing the CPU model numbers will help you differentiate between the 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation, and not to choose a laptop with an outdated CPU.

The 1st generation of Intel Core i5 mobile CPUs has been introduced to the public for the first time late in 2009, under the name of "Arrandale", as a mainstream variant of the earlier high-end performance Core i7. Arrandale i5 processors have integrated graphics but only two processor cores.

Arrandale Dual Core i5 mobile CPUs:

Core i5-5xxMCore i5-4xxMCore i5-5xxUMCore i5-4xxUM

The 2nd generation of Intel Core i5 mobile CPUs, aka "Sandy Bridge", made its appearance in early 2011. These processors are, also, dual-core chips like the previous series and share most the features with that product line. The benchmarking tests have shown an average performance increase by 11%, according to benchmarking sites, compared to the 1st Generation.

Sandy Bridge Dual Core i5 mobile CPUs:

The 3rd generation of Intel Core i5 mobile CPUs, aka "Ivy Bridge", is the latest series released by Intel. The benchmarking tests have shown 5% to 15% increase in CPU performance and 20% to 50% increase in integrated GPU performance compared to Sandy Bridge.

Ivy Bridge Dual Core i5 Mobile CPUs:

Now that you are familiar with all the i5 processors, and you can differentiate between the i5 series, all you have to do is to find a notebook that uses one of the above processors. The easy way to do find an Intel i5 laptop is to go to your favorite online store and filter the notebooks by the type of processor they use. Make sure to check the processor model number to see if it's a 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation i5 CPU.

One thing that I need to mention is that all the above processors have an integrated GPU, which means that not all laptops will be configured with a discrete graphics card. So if you need more GPU power for video transcoding applications, 3D design and gaming at ultra high settings, make sure to choose a notebook with discrete graphics.

Hope I made myself useful with this article, and if you need more information on i5 laptops I invite you to browse this list I made with intel core i5 laptops.

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Is Your Website Mobile-Ready?

As smartphones are increasing in popularity, more website owners are realising they need to prepare their site for mobile viewing.

Code Code Code

As with any website design, it's important the code follows all of the usual standards and is clean and neat. As long as you comply by the coding standards, you should be able to implement code to make mobile-viewing enjoyable for the user.

Going Mobile

If you don't have the time, budget or resources to hire a mobile app development company you can follow some simple standard code that will tailor your website to most mobile devices and platforms. The secret ingredient is WCAG AA, which set the level of code and design compliance a site needs to follow to meet the needs of all types of user.

This standard guides your website design so your site is not dependent on your device functionality or the user's ability to find non-standard indicators.

Examples of these coding standards include image alt text so the user is greeted with a description of the image before it loads, and contrast ratios, which set the colours to proper contrast ratios so all text can be easily seen on the site. Applying by these standards is essential if you want your website to be accessible and user-friendly. And Google loves user-friendly sites!

Complying by the standard HTML, CSS and WCAG AA is not enough to make websites completely optimised for mobile, but if you don't have the time or budget to hire experienced Android or iPhone app development companies then applying this code will help your site when it appears on mobile or tablet devices.

Ditch the mobile subdomain

If you are using a separate URL for mobile usually M.company.com then it's time to start phasing this out and just using your original URL (company.com). This can be implemented through Responsive Design, a clever new way to optimise a website for mobile, which will adapt to any platform and any device.

As more devices are introduced, new code will be created accordingly, so developers will only need to make minor changes to code and it will adapt to any new devices on the market.

Responsive design will alter the layout and display of websites based on what device it is presented on.

Nowadays smartphones are increasing in popularity and in variety so it's time to ditchy the mobile subdomain and keep everything on your main URL - this is to make development more efficient, as well as usability.

Clair O'Hara is writing on behalf of Mubaloo, a mobile app development company who specialise in Android and iPhone app development for large brands and corporations.

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Mobile Device Security Risks for BYOD Businesses - Implement Responsible Mobile Recycling

Business professionals have come to depend on their mobile phones, tablets and devices as part of their everyday lives. However, according to a recent study, the majority of users are concerned about the mobile security on these devices and confused where they should be looking for help when security incidents arise.

In March 2012, Juniper Networks' first annual Mobility Index commissioned 4,037 mobile device users and IT decision-makers in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China and Japan. The study reveals that most mobile users remain skeptical about the safety of their devices and the applications they utilize. According to this study, 63 percent of users are not sure if they should trust that their mobile experiences are secure.

The Bring Your Own Device trend gaining in popularity and because of this IT professionals reported data security breaches on unsanctioned devices as their number one concern. In fact, more than 40 percent of those surveyed indicated that they use personal devices for work without official permission. With nearly one-third of IT professionals reporting that their organization experienced a data security breach as a result of a personal device accessing company data, enterprises need to begin considering mobile security a serious issue.

According to the survey, 63 percent of users hold their service providers responsible for the safety of their private data. The remaining individuals surveyed depend on the device manufacturers and software service providers. However, all parties have a part to play in preventing mobile security breaches. Users have a responsibility to find out what applications they are using and if they are safe. They also need to protect the data on their phone with password protection or remote wiping abilities in the case of theft. Business owners also have a responsibility to put in place a mobile security plan that will protect their employees as well as the company's confidential data.

To avoid giving cybercriminals the chance to hack into corporate networks, enterprises need to address the issues of mobile security and develop a plan to combat these issues. As more people rely on mobile applications, services and networks to handle critical personal and business information, individual users need to educate themselves on the consequences of mobile security while companies need to develop a comprehensive solution that will protect their sensitive corporate data.

An important consideration often overlooked in protecting sensitive mobile data is the responsible reuse and recycling of used devices once they are replaced with a newer technology. Many BYOD enterprises provide employee stipends to purchase their preferred mobile phone or tablet for business use, however they do not have procedures in place to ensure the data on used devices is protected once discarded.

In a recent study, Electronic Retention: What Does Your Mobile Phone Reveal About You?, researchers in the UK investigated the extent to which sensitive information resides on mobile phones after users attempt to remove the information. For the study, 49 re-sold mobile devices were acquired from secondary markets and examined using mobile forensic toolkits. Every device yielded some user information and 11,135 pieces of information were recovered, confirming that substantial personal information is retained on a typical mobile device.

Without a clear mobile recycling policy in place, employees are free to sell the used devices on eBay, Craiglist or online mobile buyback companies that offer little or no data protection guarantees. Additionally, it is essential for a BYOD organization to establish a partnership with a trusted mobile asset recovery and recycling vendor that offers proven, audited mobile data deletion methods and require their workforce to only resell and recycle their used mobile devices through this partner.

Enterprises that establish a secure mobile recycling program will not only benefit financially by recouping the remaining resale value of used mobile devices, but also ensure that their sensitive data does not end up in the wrong hands. For a list of certified electronics recyclers with validate data deletion processes, visit http://e-Stewards.org.

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Solving Data Integration Worries on a Cloud Network

In the age of virtualization where almost everything pertaining to human existence is gradually being replaced by its virtual alternate, it is safe to say that every notable organization relies on a number of virtual solutions with one of the latest to join the league being cloud based solutions. Cloud based applications are unarguably a remarkably cost effective yet efficient alternates to legacy installable enterprise applications and hence, have gained immense popularity in all business domains. However, despite of the benefits promised by cloud based applications, the need for a data integration platform is always there.

It is understandable that every cloud application used at organizational level generates and processes a substantial amount of data. Now, unless you are one of the multimillion dollar enterprises with a budget to revamp your entire database, could data integration is likely to be one of your major worries. This is because every data-centric application requires uninterrupted flow of data from the databases. Now, the databases being designed for the legacy applications fail to perform as per the prerequisites of could-based applications, thereby dampening their overall efficacy by a great margin, and this is where cloud integration solutions come to the rescue.

In simple terms, cloud data integration solutions are aimed at bridging the functional gap between latest could applications and obsolete databases. These solutions not only ensures seamless transfer of data to and from the databases, they also come loaded with other features such as data DE-duplication to optimize the efficacy of your database as per the demands of the cloud applications utilizing them. By promising uninterrupted feed and transfer of data, such solutions enhance the efficacies of the cloud applications being used by the organizations and hence, are able to make a notable improvement to their overall productivity.

In case you are having trouble with finding a reliable data integration platform for your cloud applications, you can easily find a number of solution providers and third party vendors offering suitable solutions. Now, since the options for cloud data integration solutions available in the IT market vary by a substantial margin, it becomes imperative for you to be sure about the efficacy of the one you opt for. Hence, before finalizing any of the apparently viable options, you must have a fair idea about the efficacies you may expect from them, something possible by examining the reviews received by the providers with a credible repute.

Andy Robert is a multi-awarded writer which provides helpful information and assets for those looking for high quality data integration platform. Their mission is to provide the authentic and determined information so you can make an informed decision about Cloud data integration.

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iPad Development For Small Businesses - Tips On How To Hire the Right iPad Developer

The roaring success of the first iPad captured the interest of entrepreneurs worldwide. The unparalleled success of later versions of iPad demonstrated that this Apple device is here to stay. During the last couple of years, numerous businesses have harnessed the power of iPad apps to generate revenue and promote products. While it is easy for large companies and organizations to hire iPad developers from India, China, Philippines or Indonesia to cut down the cost of iPad application development, most small businesses and entrepreneurs find it difficult to take full advantage of offshore software development.

As the iPad grows more and more popular, small businesses and start-ups across the world are opening their eyes to the benefits of developing an app for iPad. However, the high costs of app development in US, UK and Europe make it difficult for them to benefit from iPad app development. Offshore development is a seemingly simple solution to this problem: small businesses can reduce the cost of development by 50-60% by outsourcing their IT projects.

Unfortunately, iPads have not been around for a long time. So, it is not very easy for entrepreneurs to find competent developers who can do justice to their project. Large organizations have extensive experience with offshore development, and they can afford to spend a more money. Consequently, they do not face too much trouble in finding efficient iPad developers. But things are not that easy for entrepreneurs or small business owners. If you are a small business owner or entrepreneur, the following tips will help you hire a decent iPad developer for your iPad app development project:

Freelancer vs. Professional: If you are planning to develop a simple app, you can hire a freelancer to build it for you. Freelancers are usually ready to work for cheap, but it is difficult to find trustworthy freelance developers. On the other hand, hiring a reliable iPad developer from a reputed offshore company will cost a tad more. First, you need to decide whether you want a freelancer or a professional.

Check Background, Seek References: If you are planning to hire a freelancer, you should insist on seeing references. There are too many frauds out there who'll take your money and vanish into thin air. Even when you hire iPad programmers from a company, it is best to check their background. LinkedIn can be a pretty useful tool in this situation. Also, hiring someone who has references from your friends or acquaintances is a good idea. Do not hesitate to ask for references and work samples - most of the genuine developers will be more than happy to oblige.

Talk with Others Who've Done It Before: It should not be difficult to find friends or business acquaintances who have successfully outsourced their iPad development projects. If you are unsure of what you are looking for, talk to a friend who has some experience of offshore development. This will also help you get a clear idea of how outsourcing works.

Understand iPad Development: Many small businesses get ripped off because they do not know anything about the development process. You need someone in your company who understands the basic of iPad app development. Discuss different aspects of your project with the potential hires and let them see that you know a bit about iPad programming.

Ask Questions: It may not be possible for you to discuss technical details, but you can question your potential developer regarding the process of development. Ask him about the tools and technologies he intends to use; ask him to give you an exact date of delivery. Depending on the scope and complexity of the project, tablet app development may take as long as 2-6 months or as little as 2-4 weeks. If you are planning to develop a simple, conventional app, it shouldn't take too long to develop.

While it may not be possible for you to follow each and every tip, you can apply some of the ideas in this article to evaluate the suitability of the iPad developers. Even if you do not have the time to understand the basics of iPad development, you can get a clear idea regarding the suitability of a programmer by looking at his previous work. In addition, talking to the iPad app developer will also help you get some idea about his suitability or unsuitability for your project.

With many options available on the market, you can hire expert iPad developer from a reputed offshore mobile and web development company. You can get customized iPad applications at affordable rates without compromising with quality.

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Is The Apple iPad Fragile? Don't You Believe It!

This afternoon my five-year-old grandson ran past me with my first iPad in hand. The Targus case was open and flopping in the breeze. He made a hard right at the living room couch while the iPad continued on straight across the hardwood floor on its unprotected screen. I felt a bit sick; I've got another iPad, but this one and I have a history...

One morning over a year ago while we still lived in Duluth, Mn. my wife and I set out for a drive to Minneapolis 160 miles south. Of course I brought my iPad with me. I'd only had it a few months and already I couldn't go long without it. I clutched it in one hand and lugged a large suitcase in the other as my wife and I went out to the garage to load the car. I set the iPad on the roof of my Subaru while I struggled to get the suitcase into the back seat.

Yes, you guessed it! We then drove off with a $600 tablet bouncing around on top of our car. The iPad, fortunately, was sheltered in a Targus case; I have no idea what the fabric was but it was sufficiently rough to keep from sliding off--at least until we hit the freeway on the hill out of town at seventy-five mph. At that point gravity must have overcome the blessings of luck and the iPad went bouncing down the freeway after me.

Of course I was still sitting fat, dumb, and happy behind the wheel thinking how great it would be showing off my new iPad to my old friends in Minneapolis. When we arrived in Minneapolis I couldn't find the tablet. I was disappointed but not frantic--stupid me, I couldn't even remember taking it out to the car.

It wasn't until we got home and I couldn't find the iPad anywhere in the house after an exhaustive search that I realized what had happened. Wonderful! I didn't sleep well that night, and the next day when I wasn't beating myself up I was changing all my passwords and checking for incursions into my credit accounts. Great! How dumb could you get? Don't answer that...

And then two days later I got a phone call. "Mike," said an unfamiliar voice. "Did you lose something the other day?"

I'm sure my mouth must have dropped open. "You can't mean my iPad!"

Yes, it was my iPad. The gentleman noticed it lying on the freeway next to the median and wondered what it could be. He stopped and opened the Targus case and switched it on. Amazingly, it worked. But the most amazing thing of all was that he went to some trouble and called me. There may yet be hope for our species!

Until that time I'd always thought Apple products to be on the fragile side. I'm not sure where I got that idea; maybe it's because they are so darned attractive. How could anything that pretty be tough at the same time? Oh, I forgot about my wife!

This iPad flew off my car at 75 to 80 mph. Just imagining how it must have bounced over and over on the hard, unforgiving concrete makes me ill. The Targus case helped-- not a scratch on the screen--but there were deep gouges on the outer rim of the tablet where no fabric protected it. Fragile? I don't think so. That was over a year ago and it was still working today when my speeding grandchild threw it halfway across the living room.

And it is still working tonight as I type away on it. The iPad fragile? Don't you believe it!

If you found this article worthwhile visit Mike Nardine at Cheap Mike's Domains. Check out his prices on cheap domain names, cheap web hosting and take a look at all the free stuff you get with every domain you buy.

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Is Phone Support Really That Useful?

You used to order a pizza over the phone. Now you can, and indeed do, order pizza online. And it's not because we like Italian cuisine that we're talking about, but every business if leveraging the online space to build a products and services delivery model. E-commerce portals target online advertising in order to capture market space and get their product off the shelf. This does not mean the good old fashioned supermarket is out of business yet, but that buying off an online store doesn't mean you have to take the car out and bring back stuff in paper bags.

So the question, why is online technical support still holding onto the idea of toll free help line support? PC troubleshooting can be a complex and multi-layered task that requires technicians with specific skills resolving each of the issues at hand. The platforms that are used by companies like HCL Touch in providing technical assistance online allow remote access to the user's computer as long as the user is connected to the internet. Microsoft Windows XP and later versions come programmed to allow multi-port access for troubleshooting tasks.

Phone support is an essential part of the troubleshooting conversation not only because it allows the technician to get a better understanding of the issues, but also for the customer to understand the level and quality of service that is going to be provided. Certifications are a significant indication of capability and companies like Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation issue standards for technical assistance. Once your tech support call is in queue, your issue is identified and transferred to the expert.

Oftentimes, the user is unable to access the computer at either because they got blocked out of their system or the computer crashed. Internet and Email issues are most often due to a malfunctioning connection, and it becomes impossible for the user to call for tech support online. What they can do call the helpline number and get step by step instructions on how to enable networking on the computer. Once the remote access has been generated, the technician can resolve other issues remotely.

The best part about online support is that I can call them anytime and get my issues resolved around the clock. This is especially useful for people like me who work out of their home offices and have to send out emails at 2 in the night. This service does come at a subscription cost, but I have to say that it is far better than taking my computer down to the store or have a technician come over to look at it. It's good to have a trusted technology partner who knows his thing. The best part about a tech support company like HCL is that it has been an OEM for the past 3 decades and they really know how to get around technical hitches.

Cathy Stones brings her experience in working with trusted technicians to troubleshoot computer slowdown and PC tune up. Cathy draws on an extensive resource for PC optimization and tune up. Get online computer support today!

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Should I Buy a HTC One S?

Finally there's some relief for the T-Mobile customers who have been treading through the rough patches for a long time. First, the threat of a takeover by AT&T, and secondly, there was the lack of attractive and slim phones. While competitors like AT&T and Verizon went about introducing a series of attractive smartphones, there were hardly any choices for the T-Mobile customers.

The wait is over, and HTC One S has been launched recently to reward your patience. With brilliant camera, sleek design, multimedia goodies and attractive features like T-Mobile TV, Amazon Mobile, a game portal, an FM radio, and a free storage from DropBox, HTC One S looks very promising. But, will it live up to the expectations of the users? We did a detailed HTC One S review to find out whether it is enough to keep you loyal to T-Mobile.

HTC One S is mid-range Android phone by HTC. It is a smaller version of the company's flagship phone HTC One X. We found that One S is a premium smartphone with lower specifications than the HTC One X. Interestingly the One S outperforms the top-spec One X in several areas. Let's get started with out HTC One S review:

HTC One S Hardware Design
Since the launch of the HTC Magician, the company has emphasized on manufacturing well designed handsets that have a unique characteristic of its own. The introduction of HTC One S has taken the hardware design to the next level while retaining the features which makes the phone essentially an HTC product.

The HTC One S is strikingly elegant, and the body is made of a single aluminum piece that wraps the entire device. The 4.3-inch screen display looks incredibly beautiful with micro-drilled speakers, capacitive buttons, and a front-facing camera. The handset has an MHL-enabled microUSB located on its left edge, volume rockers on the right edge, and the 3.5mm headphone jack and power buttons are located on the top.

The camera lens at the backside is highlighted by a blue ring, which is also paired with LED flash, Beats Audio logo, and an HTC logo at the bottom. The back of One S also features two plastic panels which has a speakerphone, an antenna, and a microSIM card slot.

HTC One S Build Quality
Unlike its competitors who are fast churning out slabs made of cheap and glossy plastics, HTC is one of the few companies which put a lot of thought into the materials used for manufacturing handsets. Although the cheap phones might look attractive from the outside, once you hold them in your hands you can feel the low quality production material, and you will find yourself constantly cleaning with smartphone from the greasy smudges.

Since 2010, with the making of the HTC Legend, the company has been producing aluminum casings for smartphones. With HTC One S, it has taken one step further by providing a gradient finish to the phone. The color shade of the device fades from dark to lighter, and it is noticeable on all sides excluding the backside.

Measuring 130.9 x 65 x 7.8 mm, the One S is the thinnest smartphone ever produced by the company, and it weighs only 119.5 grams. The aluminum shell provides a solid feel to the device. The glass panel which covers the display of the phone keeps the glass from touching the surface when kept downwards facing.

HTC One S Display Screen
HTC One S features a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED display which is similar to the EVO 3D or HTC Sensation from last year. Although the size in not as impressive as One X's 4.7-inches, it works fine and looks elegant. The display is laminated with a Gorilla Glass covering to provide good viewing angles, but it's slightly inferior to the Super LCD displays used by HTC. A downside of the Super AMOLED display is that you will find it difficult to view the screen outdoors in direct sunlight; however it will be fine on a cloudy day.

HTC One S Software
HTC One S comes with Google's Android 4.0 pre-installed software and a custom operating system having HTC Sense 4.0 user interface. During the HTC One S review, we noticed that when the device is switched on, it shows a new lock screen. The users may select from a variety of One S lockscreen designs which display events, calendar, stock quotes, pictures or social media updates. The HTC Sense 4.0 enables users to launch whichever application the user requires right from the home screen. Impressive!

HTC One S Battery life
Battery life is an imperative part of any review and while doing the HTC One S review, we hoped that it would improve and we were not disappointed. HTC One S boasts an average 1650 mAh battery. The HTC One S can be kept up and running for a maximum nine and a half hours. The smartphone can easily make through an entire working day and under regular use stay charged up to 12-14 hours.

HTC One S Performance
When it comes to performance, HTC One S takes the cake with its 1.5 GHz dual-core Qualcomm MSM8260A Snapdragon S4 processor. The avid gamers will love the experience on this device, and it can easily tear through power-packed games like Dead Space, Shadowgun, Temple Run, and NBA Jam.

HTC One S Camera
Although the One S might be the slimmest and most powerful phones by HTC, the device excels when it comes to the handset's camera which utilizes the advanced ImageSense technology. It gives users the experience of a real digital camera on the smartphone. The device features a 8 megapixel BSI, imaging sensor, and f2.0 lens. You can easily switch to the video mode, and the phone allows you to capture images while shooting videos in 1080p HD. The front-facing VGA camera is also capable of capturing pictures and video in 640 x 480 pixels resolution.

Our Verdict On HTC One S
We were thoroughly impressed with the HTC One S review, and fortunately the device is not only attractively designed but is bug free; has amazing multimedia access; not great, but good call/ sound quality; and enough processing power to tear through anything you present on its way. So, if you are looking for an attractive and power-packed T-Mobile that money can buy then HTC One S is a good choice!

I know how hard it is to get a new smartphone. There are a lot of different phones available at the moment and more are released every month. So how should you find the right one?
It's pretty simple! Compare all available smartphones - but you don't have to do the work! Check out reviews for Android Smartphones and you'll soon know, which one to buy!

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Sharing Mobile Development Knowledge and Awareness With You

Mobile development can be described as the process of making handheld portable devices as useful as computers are. The foundation for this development is to boost the internet experience for the mobile user who lacks a computer. Nowadays the demand for handheld internet devices is growing fast across the world. Users can now log onto their portable devices and perform the tasks they normally do via their desktop or laptop PCs thanks to the bubbly mobile evolution. Information technology trends are clever these days. A few years back cellular phones, better known as cell phones, were merely used for communication. They were tremendous substitutes for landline telephones.

Today mobile phones appear to be the centre of everything. The fact that individuals and businesses cannot do without them makes mobile development a practical IT (Information Technology) discovery. It appears that the smartphone is particularly getting all the attention that the computer once got. Desktop computers are heavy and impractical choices for mobile workers. Laptops and notebooks are portable but bulkier than any existing cell phone. It is no wonder that the mobile web audience is growing fast and now there is a generation that wants to do everything on a mobile platform.

What does this mean for mobile development companies? It means their developers are embracing the new culture and developing websites with it in mind. Their main focus is on the user experience when designing mobile applications. They want to create apps that shorten user navigations when they want to find something different or something they did during their last surfing session. While it may be easy to create an application, constructing a good user experience is not straightforward. Upcoming mobile apps programmers have to know how to confront the screen size constraint they are not accustomed to when developing desktop apps. Besides having smaller screens, cell phones and other portable internet access gadgets have smaller keyboards and touch screens.

One may wonder how developers deal with bandwidth and memory constraints. It is not a secret that various handheld portable devices lack abundant memory compared to computers. To avoid running out of memory, developers avoid loading full-resolution images onto the cell phone. Instead they load smaller-resolution icons. In addition to bandwidth and memory, these experts have to create their apps within other parameters such as the low battery life. Moreover, they have to decide if they want to offer a location based (native) or a web-based mobile development service. Many users may be more interested in location-based apps that are downloaded onto their devices rather than web-based apps that operate via something like the mobile OS WebKit system.

The latter is often cheaper and less complicated than the former. How to synchronize and cache data on the handheld device is another challenge faced by mobile coders. Experienced developers synchronize and cache data from the server side rather than the mobile side to avoid corrupting it. Furthermore they strive to keep the inexperienced user in mind when designing and loading new features onto the smartphones. These gadgets are smaller than the computers the users are familiar with. They also have touch screens. So there is likelihood that some first time users will make input errors. A reputable and reliable mobile development team creates a flexible and tolerant platform.

If you are looking for Mobile Development sites you can check this website http://www.dotnear.com/technologies/.

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Security in Mobile Application Development

Today's world is marked by the popularity of mobile application development. Development of these applications has widened the scope of Mobile Phones which were earlier used to make only voice calls. The popularity of Smartphones particularly, iPhones, led to the development of new applications like Internet Browsing, E-Mail, and Games etc. With rapid growth and development of Smartphones and PDAs, mobile technology has entered a golden period. The growth and development of wireless industry resulted in an increase in the requirement of advanced applications. The latest technologies used today are Dot Net, C++ and J2EE and many companies are providing secured applications for different platforms like - the iPhone, BREW, Symbian, J2ME etc.

Mobile companies also faced with the challenge of meeting the growing expectations for innovative and secured mobile applications. The ever changing mobile technology together with growing expectations of customers put an extra pressure on the developers. To stay ahead of the competitors, many companies are trying to create more innovative and portable applications. This has resulted in a trend of outsourcing the mobile application development to the companies that specialize in developing applications for wireless devices.

The list of applications which can be outsourced are: wireless internet security, video and image sharing, gaming, integrated billing solutions, location based services and content management. Companies are engaged in developing applications using leading-edge technologies and tools for providing consistent quality levels and unfailing levels. Developing secured mobile applications involve a range of innovative and dynamic approaches, which can be possible with the help of latest mobile gadgets. In developing applications for mobile devices, the biggest concern is the security on wireless devices. The security in mobile applications is developed with a target of securing phones from various threats like - viruses, malware, OS exploits etc.

There are two types of mobile security risks. One is the category of malicious functionality which can be defined as a list of unwanted mobile code behaviors. Second is the vulnerabilities which are the errors in design that expose the data to interception by attackers. To solve this issue, the developers have implemented a systematic approach to ensure security in mobile applications. There are many resources available on the internet that features case studies, code examples and best practices, to provide security in the mobile applications. One can find a lot of information on how to protect against vulnerabilities in the latest Smartphone and PDA platforms. Below are some steps that can be followed by the developers, to ensure security in mobile applications -

Maximizing isolation by designing authenticated applications.Lockdown internal and external/removable storage.Working with sandboxing and signing and encrypt sensitive user information.Safeguards against viruses, worms, malware and buffer overflow exploits are also involved in the security of wireless devices.Using the Google Android emulator, debugger and third-party security tools for debugging.Configuring the Apple iPhone interfaces to prevent overflow and SQL injection attacks.Employing private and public key cryptography on Windows Mobile devices.Enforcing fine-grained security policies using the BlackBerry Enterprise ServerPlugging holes in Java Mobile Edition, SymbianOS and WebOS applications.Testing for XSS, CSRF, HTTP redirects and Phishing attacks on WAP/Mobile HTML applications.Identifying and eliminating threats from Bluetooth, SMS and GPS services.

With the help of the above guidelines, one can provide security to the mobile and wireless devices. Today's world is very dynamic and competitive and developers need just more than theoretical knowledge to get themselves ready for IT industry.

Mobile application development process at Endeavour concentrates on enabling unthinkable innovative processes in mobile environments. The available data is looked at being mobilized as this approach enables the enterprise to change the way their employees work. As a thorough mobility company, Endeavour never retrieves from thinking as creatively as possible to arrive at a process that is crafted to perfection and is streamlined for that desired functioning of the mobile solution that has been developed.

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Integrated Framework of Android 4.0 for Innovative Applications

The newest Android 4.0 operating system offers a refined user interface for both their phones and tablets. The operating system comes with integrated features and technical components that make it simple, beautiful and chic. The article enlists its social and sharing features that make the Android 4.0 platform the desirable choice for the developers.

Integrated framework for tablets, phones etc

The integrated framework of Android 4.0 enables the developer to create innovative applications that can be used in all the platforms of tablets and phones. The new operating system includes the familiar features of Android 3.x. The APIs (Application Programming Interface) and the interface elements remain similar. Application Development for Androidon the Android 4.0 platform means new UI tools, basic code and resources, unswerving design practices and streamlined developmental process across a range of devices.

Sharing and Communication: The 4.0 has an extended range of social and sharing features which allows the application to integrate contacts, stream items, profile data, and other calendar events from any of the users social networking profiles.

Social API: This provides a unified store for profile data, contacts, photos etc. This information can be made accessible over other networks and apps. The developers can adjoin powerful new interactions that would span the contact resources and multiple social networks.
Calendar API: The shared calendar content framework API makes it easy for the developers to integrate the calendar services with their applications.
Visual Voicemail API: The API and a shared voicemail provider would enable the android architects to construct applications that would contribute towards a more integrated voicemail store. The voicemails can now be played or displayed on the call log tab of the phone.
Android Beam: A Near Field Communication-based feature, it allows the users for instant sharing of the information about the applications that are being used. The sharing can be done by just touching the screen. For the developers, this feature triggers any proximity-based interaction. The users can now instantly change information, play multiplayer games and chat or video call etc.
Modular sharing widget: The Android 4.0 framework is inclusive of a new widget, the ShareActionProvider. This allows the developer to embed the standard share functionality and user-interface in the Action Tab of their applications.

The new Android 4.0 comes with the features that people love and need the most. They are multitasking, customizable home screens, resizable widgets, rich notifications and platform for deep interactivity. All this has further promoted the development of android applications. The integrated feature of being able to share and commune has made the Android 4.0 the more preferable and a versatile platform for application development.

Application Development for Android has seen unprecedented growth in the recent era of applications. The new operating system offers beneficial features that ascertain the development of android apps, which has increased usability and accessibility.

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Most Common Factors Affecting Usability in Mobile Application Development

Mobile Application Developers often over look most important factor called "Usability" while they develop any mobile application. Usability of any mobile application serves very crucial role in mobile application development, as success of any mobile application heavily depends on its usability.

The issue of usability in mobile application development rise due to not so tailored or predefined set of rules for determining usability of any mobile application. Also, everyday there are numerous mobile devices launched with different configurations and screen sizes, which raise the difficulty level for mobile app developers to develop highly usable application which can run on any mobile device with ease.

Below are some most common factors, which affect usability in mobile app development:-

• Most common factor affecting usability is constantly varying screen sizes of different mobile devices! Daily hundreds of new smart phone devices launched with different resolution, which makes almost impossible for application developers to create application which can run smoothly on any mobile devices.

• Tiny fonts may reduce usability of your app! Every device has predefined font size, which makes it difficult for developers to set fonts for their applications and make their app more user-friendly.

• Poor mixture of color combination of application! Every developer wishes their application to be unique and eye catchy and to do so they use highly contrasted color combinations, which makes app less usable for the mobile device users.

• Not so clear button functionalities of app! Many developers often develop app having very complicated process for navigation within app through buttons and even doesn't provide any guidelines for using buttons within app, which makes application very less usable.

• Insufficient knowledge of mobile device & application development platform, for which developers develop application! It very common for novice developers to jump directly into development of mobile applications without having proper knowledge about platform they use or which kind of devices can be suited for applications, screen resolutions and many more. Applications developed with partial knowledge of basic things could result in poor usability of the application.

• Over smartness of using some unusual and less common functions in app! As a fresher in mobile app development, it is very common to get excited and developing app with some unusual and less common functionalities without knowing whether the devices supports such functionalities or not, which at the end leads poor supports from devices as well as make them terrible to access app and reduce usability as well.

Developing applications for various devices could be quite difficult. It is really tough to create app which can smoothly run on any devices. But by keeping above mentioned usability issues, one can easily create highly usable mobile applications.

Copyright © 2012

At Spinx Inc. we offer the expertise and exclusive service for iPhone App Development and our professional team of iphone developers is focusing completely on the development of iPhone applications, games and iphone websites.

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Many Benefits Of Android Application Development Make It More Feasible

It is never enough to know enough, this is especially true when we are speaking about Android, the open source mobile operating system. Android development offers immense possibilities to developers interested in creating out of the box applications and games for the mobile world. Not only can the developers develop various applications and games using the pulpit but also sell, distribute and market it easily.

A good quality about it is that it keeps updating itself every now and then, giving Android development team chance to expand their creativity to develop applications which otherwise would not have been possible. One should not be surprised to see different level applications being introduced in the Android market at regular intervals.

However all Android developers are not at equal levels, some are good at accomplishing certain Android application development projects, and some are good at certain other type of projects. Clients are always on the look out for the best Android app development team, which can handle their project as required by them.

Clients hire Android developers with skills and expertise to develop applications as they envisioned, in such a manner that it will be able to hold its own in the market, gaining immense popularity and meeting business objectives. Besides a good application, Android app development brings along many other benefits like:

Greater Reach: Global data shows more than 200 million Android activations until now, meaning at least these many people are using Android enabled devices. It would also mean that you will be able to reach these many people if you have your own application or game based on this platform.

Frequent Updates: From the time it was introduced to today, it has gone through various updates, each making it better than the previous versions. Better platform would obviously mean much better Android application development.

Development: Android provides for Android application development through its various tools. Developers can generally use these tools to not only develop applications but to also test, sell, distribute and market them the way they want to meet their requirements.

Open Marketplace: Google makes it easier to sell and distribute these applications. Developers can thus ensure that their application will reach the targeted audience in no time.

All these benefits make Android application development even more feasible and beneficial to clients. Applications can be developed using its dedicated SDK, can be tested using Android tools and can be distributed using Google Play, providing everything needed for effective mobile application development.

Android Application Development is a professional Android App Development company. Hire Android developer for cost-effective Android solutions at AAD.

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Samsung Galaxy Nexus - The Smartphone With Clever Alternatives

The Galaxy Nexus brings a series of top edge features to the mobile marketplace thanks to its superior technical architecture and the most up-to-date iteration of Android, known delectibly as Ice Cream Sandwich.

Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) brings many defining attributes to the Galaxy Nexus, including:

Face Unlock: a new way of unlocking your handset by merely using the 1.3 MP front facing camera.Android Beam: a cool way to simply share contacts, apps, websites and other data from two Android hansets which have NFC (Near Field Communication) enabled.Improved camera: which practically has zero lag that simply will take instantaneous pictures at the touch of the shutter button. The camera also has a fantastic panorama mode which will allow you to take panorama pictures seamlessly with just one sweeping shot.Ice Cream Sandwich also introduces several improvements to stock applications, including contacts, calendar, net browser and more, making them look and behave more slicker than before. You can find out much more on the features and options of Ice Cream Sandwich at android.com.

It's important to highlight that the Galaxy Nexus is not just about its amazing operating system, but is also laddened with an impressive array of hardware. Inside the Galaxy Nexus you'll find a powerful 1.2 GHz dual-core processor with 1 GB RAM, a vibrant 4.65" full HD Super AMOLED screen, an extremely capable 5 MP camera that will shoot high definition videos and a feast of connectivity selections ranging from the normal Wi-FI, 3G, Bluetooth plus the addition of NFC capability and the new Wi-Fi Direct feature which allows you to connect to nearby peer gadgets without the need for an internet connection. Wi-Fi Direct offers immediate file, media and 3rd party apps sharing.

You also get a generous 16GB of internal storage, which is more than sufficient to get all your media and apps on board.

Technical Specification for White Galaxy Nexus:

Most up-to-date Android 4. Ice Cream Sandwich1.2 GHz Dual-Core Cortex A9 Processor4.65 inch Super AMOLED Display5 MP Rear, 1.3 MP Front facing camera16 GB Internal StorageWi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, NFC, Wi-Fi DirectSensors: Accelerometer, Compass, Gyro, Light, Proximity, BarometerFace Unlock, Android Beam3.5mm Audio Jack1 GB RAMDimensions: 135.5 x 67.9 x 8.9mmWeight: 135g

What's in the box:

Samsung Galaxy NexusStereo HeadsetBattery 1750mAhUSB Data/ChargeCable Mains ChargerExtra Documentation

Find out more about the amazing Galaxy Nexus handset and the exclusive White Galaxy Nexus at whitegalaxynexus.com.
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Microsoft's SmartGlass Is Really Smart

At this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Microsoft introduced its latest technology of Xbox SmartGlass. Before the announcement, the rumor mill was turning. Was SmartGlass a new type of hardware? Would it replaceXbox? Would it change how we interact with our computers? Would it be a new platform?

At the keynote speech, many of these questions were answered while we were left with many more to figure out. So, what did we learn from the announcement? We learned that SmartGlass is not a new or game changing piece of hardware. It is software.

Now while you say, "It is just a piece of software." You have to acknowledge that it is a really smart piece of software. It will communicate with multiple platforms and allow them all to talk with each other "seamlessly." That may sound like it should be easy, but it really is not. Actually, it is about as far away from easy as you can get. A lot of manufacturers have a large amount of difficulty just trying to unite one product line of web-enabled mobile and desktop devices. The task is daunting due to the differences in architecture. With SmartGlass, Microsoft is trying to tie together Apple and Android products as well.

What hardware will I need?

To start with, you will need an Xbox or other device running Windows 8 to get the technology going. After that,Microsoft says that the sky is the limit and you can connect all types of mobile devices. They say they will be able to interact with iOS and Android devices. While Microsoft would prefer that you buy one of their Nokia phones, SmartGlass will interact with any non-Microsoft Android phone. You don't need to buy a Windows 8 tablet, but could use an iPad that you already own..

I like the idea but what do I do with it?

So, you have your Microsoft Xbox and Windows 8 tablet and are wondering what you can do with it. While we are still being kept in the dark about a lot of details, Microsoft announced that they would be using this technology in a few specialized areas. The two that they concentrated on at the Expo were gaming and streaming media. For the gaming community, they demonstrated some of Maddon's next football game where players used their tablets to draw their plays on the screen to call out plays. There was even a hint of Karaoke help with words showing on the tablet to help the singer. For the real question, do we really need to encourage more Karaoke? For videos, the tablet computers showed extra information as the movie was playing and could offer interactive games. It is kind of what you have now with pop up video facts, but on a different screen so your image is not compressed or overwritten.

What is next?

While SmartGlass was shown at the E3, we still have to wait for this fall for Microsoft to release it to the public. It will be ready just in time for the pre-Christmas buying rush and should make an interesting "computer stuffer." Who knows, maybe this Christmas, all of your entertainment experiences will be just a little smarter.

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MSI Pimps Their Notebooks With Crystals! A Look at MSI M677 Crystal Collection

Diamonds are not the sole best friend of women these days. Indeed, crystals beg to disagree.

I'm not very sure if MSI planned to target rich, Paris Hilton types of girls when they revealed their Crystal Collection but it's a pretty interesting piece that could turn laptops to luxuries. Check out photos of the crystal embedded MSI logo to see what I mean. They even changed the font! It would probably be like Breakfast at Tiffany's every day with this laptop and I literally want to sell my computer for cash!

Just like Acer's Ferrari laptop and Asus' Lamborghini laptop, MSI finally unveiled their own "exclusive laptop" which they call the MSI M677 (although I wish they thought of a more stylish name for the "blinged out" laptop instead of just naming it "Crystal Collection" because it sounds like a clothing line or a jewelry collection). Not only does it look very fabulous and expensive, it's also very functional as a laptop in its own right. It runs on Windows XP (I know, I know, not too fabulous for a crystal embedded laptop right?), and has a 1.8 GHz AMD Turion 64X2 CPU which is not so bad for a notebook. It may be so-so in the memory and hard drive department as it has a 120 GB SATA drive and it also has a 1 GB memory which can be expanded up to 2 GB through its two SO-DIMM sockets. MSI also pimped this laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce 6100 and an NVIDIA MCP51M chipsets and 256 MB dedicated NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 for the graphics and video card. Meanwhile the audio of this pimped laptop is powered by Realtek ALC883 (though it's also compatible with either Azalia or SoundBlaster). The specs would surely make any graphics oriented person want to sell used laptop for cash.

The screen is an LCD widescreen with a 1280x800 resolution. It weighs 2.9 kilos and is complete with nooks and ports for maximum functionality. It has a 1.3 megapixels CMOS camera, 6-in-1 card reader slots (yes, all the memory card types you can think of), and PC card slots as well. It's got tons of input and output ports (like 4 USB 2.0 ports) a mic-in port, headphone and share headphone out ports, and a TV out port! (I wonder how I'd look like watching TV on this laptop). It goes for 3 hours on maximum use with Lithium Ion batteries. It also has an optical drive, a DVD Supermulti writer, Bluetooth compatibility and a built-in Ethernet LAN modem and module.

Aside from looking really classy compared to other laptops out on the market today, the MSI M677 is just one of the very few laptops that are 15 inches in size (which is for me the most ideal screen size for business, multimedia and gaming) and has specs that are very dedicated to the graphics department. But who am I kidding? The best and the most eye-catching part of this laptop is the MSI logo surrounded with tiny Swarovski beads that looks so tempting to wannabe rich kids like me. A few years after enjoying this laptop, I'd probably take this MSI M677 Crystal Collection laptop and sell laptops online and make a fortune out of it! Who knows, right?

Find laptop replacement parts like laptop motherboard, laptop hard drive, laptop screen. at Laptopaid.com and choose our laptop replacement parts services as well.

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Is There A Need For Change In The Mobile App Development Arena?

Due to the changing economy and the intense competition, the mobile brands are facing serious pressures and the marketing departments are putting in extra efforts to help their company to strike honors. It has become very important for people to update and upgrade as well as for companies to bring in the new development technologies.

Nearly, all companies take cue of a similar sales strategy for grabbing market share. But following the competitors' strategy is not always feasible since the market is volatile and consumer demands change drastically. The increase in the latest technologies has led to a confused audience which isn't sure if the new technology is really worth it. It is very difficult for the audience today to differentiate between the smartphones and its features.

The consumer has the full freedom to choose the product of his choice. But with the bombardment of advertisements and the significant change in the media the generation relies on simplicity of messages and the usual general features that a brand possesses. Marketers are trying to pitch in different ideas and functionalities of the smartphone and the apps that it carries, but not many are aware that there are bigger and better phones than the ones which have full blown print ads.

It is challenging for the global brands to survive in the local market and a small change in quality or price would significantly affect the market value of the brand product and even in the consumer mindset. The right time and the right pitch is important once a company decides on the location and market. One needs to go beyond the traditional marketing ideas to pitch in the features of several apps and combine it with the features of a smartphone.

Google launched the search engine idea with no one ever having the slightest idea of the scope in it. It started with searches and audience traffic. These type of innovative ideas and initiatives will define the mobile development world in the near future.

Mobile phones are no more just to talk and text but an opportunity for marketers and businessmen to get good returns. Nowadays most businesses are trying to get in touch with the latest in wireless media marketing. It also gives businesses to tap into the new market where you can get new consumers. Mobile Application development has concentrated on apps which help users to browse the web, create mobile sites for your products or services, email frequently when on the run, and access the intranet remotely. Expert mobile application developers can help create custom mobile apps to meet the needs of any business.

Mobile apps are being harnessed by businesses to reach the customer without poking in too hard. Apps are a great medium to advertise and give a peek about one's products and services. The best way one can start out with businesses is by helping them to create their business concept and strategy into an app which could convey to the intended audience fluently without trying too hard to market the goods.

Mobile application development company have team of skilled and experience mobile developers who develops mobile apps for many platforms that suit for business needs.

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Mobile App Development Technology And The Changing Roles Of Developers

Mobile technology has managed to keep people connected since many years now right from the pagers to the recent smartphones. Nowadays, companies are forced to get out from the desktop perspective and the cloud to get a place in a more personal space of the customer through the mobile. Most marketers today have envisioned the place of the mobile to be at the top of their marketing initiatives. People who are working and also tech-savvy have started spending most of their time on their smartphones.

The rise of the mobile apps has increased profitability for companies who have managed to create incredibly important and entertaining apps. According to a survey, the consumption of mobile apps has already crossed internet surfing consumption. As per the US statistics, more than 80 million unidentified usage sessions are recorded every day across all mobile platforms.

Additionally, according to the data related to behavioral patterns for mobile usage, Android and iOS users are the highest. The data also included some interesting aspects too:

Most people have been using apps especially during late afternoon and the early evening hours. Ads are mostly clicked during morning hours according to the study.

The most popular time for users for spending time on mobiles are on weekends wherein 40% of time is devoted to using and downloading mobile apps

iPhone and Android mobiles are mostly popular and have the highest market share in the U.S., U.K. and Japan

Mobile app usage has been projected to grow by 91% compared to figures of last year. Most native browsers have brought in new enhancements. The new iOS 5 has outperformed Windows Phone Mango easily and the previews have been solid throughout.

Developers have managed to change their attitude adequately in the changing scenario for mobile development. Developers who excel in app development have progressed leaps and bounds due to their competency and have achieved mastery on more than one mobile platform. Most offshore development companies which used to focus on software development have migrated to mobile app development due to the lucrative prospects. Additionally, most mobile apps center on famous software solutions and mobile websites even promote important mail and web services which are popular all over the globe.

Solution providers have always felt the need for tools and technologies which can help them to roll out applications of similar nature simultaneously on diverse platforms. There are far too many mobile app platforms but only some of them rule the roost. Most smartphone buyers are unaware of the pros and cons of each mobile platform and hence only the most popular win the market. iOS and Android are at the top of the ladder while the erstwhile leader Symbian and the corporate-chosen Blackberry follow suit.

Most development companies and app developers have even resorted to Appcelerator for creating mobile apps which can suit different platforms. The Appcelerator Titanium has been useful for developers who need a common platform for the app development process and meets the ideal standards for all platforms.

Mobile application development company have team of skilled and experience mobile app developers who develops mobile apps for many platforms that suit for business needs.

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Significance of Mobile Video Conferencing

 With the growth and development of the mobile industry, every technology in the world is being rewritten for Mobile. With the improving smartphones, one can expect some great improvement for VOIP and conference calls. Business professionals are demanding a mobile solution that delivers the same features of video conferencing at low costs, without any call drops or lags. As technological advancements continue to develop at a neck-breaking pace, the reliable mobile solution is growing at a fast rate. The mobile conferencing technology allows the business professionals to make audio and video calls, send text messages, multimedia messages and emails from their devices. Many companies are expected to provide customized high speed data transfer plans to corporate firms, which will enable seamless voice and video calls with high resolution, excellent sound clarity and no lag on handheld gadgets.

Keeping this thing in mind, some companies extended the value of these conferencing systems by providing an option of mobile conferencing. There is a need of mobile conferencing in many industries and domains. For example, in major companies like manufacturing and energy, the heart of the business is the floor of the plant, the oil rig or the wind farm. But, these are the places where traditional conferencing rooms don't reach. With the help of mobile video conferencing technology, workers can stream live video with the help of mobile conferencing camera and get connected to the experts who are off-site at either their desks or conference rooms.

The idea of mobile conferencing on devices like smartphones is underway. The iPhone and Android devices have seen a third party software development that led to breakthroughs in mobile conferencing. There are some limitations to the development of portable video conferencing. They are - bandwidth and the hardware. These two limitations can be overcome by the advances in the network and phone design. The 3G networks have improved the data transfer speeds, due to which the mobile video conferencing technology expands in terms of features and quality. At the same time, manufacturers are cramming more powerful chips inside the handsets, along with accessories like - mini video cameras to provide conferencing experience.

The handset manufacturing companies in the world are thinking to provide a wireless video conferencing option to extend the value of their infrastructure. In other words, we can say there are very few companies in the market which offer video conference calls via Mobile. With the help of the technology developed by these companies, one can -

Stream Video directly via your mobile phone.Call using OctroTalk or regular cell phone to convert it into a Video Conference Call.Make conference calls using GPRS/CDMA/3G/WiFi.

The mobile industry is taking baby steps and some major companies are in the midst of developing a fully featured smartphone video conferencing strategy; and it became easy to integrate a mobile conferencing camera into an existing infrastructure.

Endeavour has developed many successful applications for many Fortune 500 companies around the world and is the most preferred mobile application development company by their esteemed clients. The clients that approach Endeavour for deploying mobility enterprise solutions have been happy with the services that they have received. The leading satire newspaper of the US, The Onion has congratulated Endeavour technical team for their work on the newspaper app that is successfully launched in the Google play market and istores.

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Intel Core I7 Laptops - Know The Difference

Laptops which are powered by an Intel Core i7 CPU are some of the best laptops available today on the market. Top laptop brands have already started to take advantage of the Intel i7 CPU power and they have released some of the most powerful notebooks, suitable for those who require a lot of computing power for high demanding applications and need portability on their side.

Intel is currently at the 3rd generation of Intel Core i7 mobile and desktop processors, also known as Ivy Bridge CPUs. So before rushing into buying an Intel core i7 laptop, it is good to make yourself familiar with all the i7 CPU series to avoid any confusion you may have.

The first generation of Intel Core i7 mobile CPUs, aka "Clarksfield" and "Arrandale", have been introduced to the public back in September 2009, a year later after the first desktop CPU based on the same microarchitecture, Nehalem.

"Clarksfield" Quad Core i7 mobile CPUs:

Core i7-9xxXM Extreme EditionCore i7-8xxQMCore i7-7xxQM

"Arrandale" Dual Core i7 mobile CPUs:

Core i7-6xxMCore i7-6xxLMCore i7-6xxUM

The second generation of Intel Core i7 mobile CPUs, aka "Sandy Bridge" have been introduced in early 2011. These processors have been some of the best CPUs at the time, with great success to the public.

Sandy Bridge Quad Core i7 mobile CPUs:

Core i7-2xxxXMCore i7-2xxxQMCore i7-2xxxQE

Sandy Bridge Dual Core i7 mobile CPUs:

Core i7-2xx0MCore i7-2xx9MCore i7-2xx7M

The third generation of Intel Core i7 mobile CPUs, aka "Ivy Bridge" made its appearance on April 2012, and brings a few improvements over the Sandy Bridge, which includes less power consumption, higher clock speeds and better integrated graphics.

Ivy Bridge Quad Core i7 mobile CPUs:

Core i7-3xx0QM, i7-3xx0QECore i7-3xx2QM, i7-3xx2QECore i7-3xxxXM

Now that you are familiar with all the i7 processors, all you have to do is to find a notebook that uses one of these. And the easy way to do this is to go to your favorite online store and filter the available laptops by the type of processor. Make sure to check the processor model number to see if it's a 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation i7 CPU.

A few things that I need to mention:

Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge CPUs have an integrated GPU, and a discrete graphic card may not be present in the laptop configuration. If your main tasks don't implies video transcoding, 3D graphic design and hardcore gaming you'll be fine with the integrated graphics, otherwise you should look for a laptop that has a discrete graphics card.

To take full advantage of the i7 power, also make sure the laptop has at least 4GB DDRAM, though most of them have at least 8GB.

For fast booting, a 64GB or 128GB solid state drive (SSD) is required.

The rest of features like HD webcam, 3D display, blu-ray drive and so on, are up to you to decide what you need and what you don't.

Hope I made myself useful with this article, and if you need more information on i7 laptops I invite you to browse this list I made with intel core i7 laptops, all with a configuration worthy of a desktop replacement laptop.

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